michael finney is here with his report. >> this involves two francisco institutions. going on here? >> we have a zelle app chinatown favorite that involves a bank servicing that community for decades. >> my mother has been banking with bank of america for decades. she had a store, a small business in chinatown. >> here it is, a san francisco treasure. if you have not shopped here if have probably heard about it. lisa's mother has run the place for more than 50 years. we are talking to lisa because her mother's account seems to of been hacked. >> she called bank of america and filed a fraudulent claim. it was four transactions on the same day that totaled $3500 by a whale and marlin -- waylon marlon. >> the bank put a hold of the account and investigated. lisa and her mom and they heard back. >> we will not refund her money. they could not prove it was not my mother who facilitated the transactions. >> lisa contacted me, and that is why the three of us are talking and i had to ask this question. >> did you make those transactions? >> no, absolutely the name of the pers

. >> michael finney from seven on your side. one of the most important stories is usually a con man convinces a consumer to send their money. there was one story that is really interesting to me. it pitted san francisco against each other. >> the owner of the san francisco treasurer falls victim to the scam we have been reporting on for months. this one has it all. a potentially fake name and a big-time ripoff. michael finney is here with his seven on your side report. >> this involves two francisco institutions. >> we have a bank that has been servicing the community for decades. >> my mother has been banking with bank of america for decades. >> here it is, a san treasury. her mother has run over 50 years. we are talking to lisa because her mother's account seems to have been hacked. lisa has been helping with the fallout. >> she calls bank of america. it was for transactions on the same day that totaled $3500. quite probably affect them. the back put a hold on the checking account and investigated. lisa and her mom were and th

i am michael finney. 7 on your ♪ this rental car is so boring to drive. let's be honest.stry is the definition of boring. and the reason can be found in the name itself. rent - a - car. you don't want a friend. you want the friend. you don't want a job. you want the job. the is always over a. that's why we don't offer a car. we offer the car. ♪ sixt. rent the car. (swords clashing) -had enough? -no... arthritis. here. aspercreme arthritis. full prescription-strength? reduces inflammation? thank the gods. don't thank them too soon. kick pain in the aspercreme. . >> this is abc 7 news. >> live doppler 7 it looks all the quieter. the rain was really coming down hard. check out were drivers dealt with. >> francis joins us now. >> we got inches. many areas to three inches around the bay area. i want to say live doppler 7 right now. showers. right now it is raining some thunderstorms. we had in san francisco, 1.9 inches. quiet a lot for one day. there was a new record set in 1945 over three inches notice the oakland airport, over 2.3 inches. the list of that we got was in san j

for that we turn to 7 on your side's michael finney. l: airline problems are not that unusual. last september flights were delayed en masse stacked up at airports. airlines were deregulated in 1978. until then, if your flight was delayed or canceled, your airline was required to get you out on the next available flight no matter the airline. passenger advocates s rule should be reinstated. >> we have a market inefficiency. we have stranded passengers and unused seats on other airlines, so we should have a reciprocity rule that benefits the airlines that are the most efficient and the ones that keep their schedules, and it would penalize those who are less efficient. michael: if that rule was still in effect, or went back into effect, southwest would have been required to buy thousands of seats for its passengers. dan: walk us through how that would prevent this from happening again? michael: the idea is that if they would be forced to buy this many seats and it cost them that much money, rather than do that, airlines would not run so thi

>> michael finney keeps track of this and here comes michael. >> your friends and family have told you step at it is probably wrong. to get -- to the airline must be at fault. if your flight is delayed by weather, you're entitled to no compensation at all. over the past few days, there have been a lot going on. delays, cancellations, so weather, something li na. they h passenger rights for decades. waivers if you wanted to change your flesh to avoid severe weather problems. if you attended to travel in the airline canceled your flight or significant leech changed the scheduling of the flight, passengers are owed refunds. this is called an involuntary refund. >> this is really important. you may be offered a flight voucher. your owed cash or credit card refund. what habits if this is delayed. >> how do you even go about getting your refund? that seems like a hassle. >> it is. if you book through the airline, you go through the airline. if you book through an online or off-line brick-and-mortar travel agency, you have to go through them. that will slow you down. >> you said something hou

michael: i'm michael finney, 7 on your side.ready, we have received several reports of fraud. a card was drained after it was used once at a supermarket. three others said their cards awere stolen out of the mail and scammers were able to cash them in. ama: winter starts tomorrow. it's going to bring warmer weather. speaking of warmth, and joy the glow of a yule log on our streaming app i have something for you. [whistles] hi. [joyful laughter] i have something for you to. [whistles] ♪ ♪ it's the holiday's, get 2.9% apr and no monthly payments for 90 days on turbo high-output engine sierra light duty models. plus, current eligible gmc owners get $2,500 purchase allowance. >> 5, 4, 3, 2, 1! >> happy new year! ama: we are not there yet -- time didn't jump on you. we are not there yet. the big numerals arrived leaving on a truck nearly a month ago. each number is 7 feet tall. they have bee efficient led bulbs. on december 31, on abc 7, clark's rapid new year's eve with -- rocking new year's eve airs. dan: a new holiday tradition. a

viewers are flooding in 7 on your side with questions could michael finney has more. suspicious when she got this envelope in the mail from something called california middle-class tax refund with an address in nebraska. doris: i honestly thought it was a scam. michael: she opened it to find a debit card issued by a bank in new york, saying it was her california middle-class tax refund. doris: i did not haveompany in new york that i know of, and it did not look official. michael: but it was loaded with a $350 state tax refund, one of millions going out to californians right now to help ease inflation. the one-time payments range from $200 to $250 per person for those earning up to $250,000 a year. still, it bothered doris. that card came with four pages of rules, restrictions, and potential fees, plus a lengthy cardholder agreement. others were skeptical too. market san jose writes "it is a debit card for californians, yet the bank is in new york. we are concerned that this is a trick. carol and san francisco rights, my husband believes this is a scam, and now the new

michael finney has the story. >> every year consumer reports surveys hundreds of thousands of its membersng them simple but important questions. what problems have they had with their vehicles in the past year? and it wants to know about everything from the engine transmission, brakes, to electrical systems, noises, leaks, paint and trim. >> more than 300,000 vehicles surveyed, consumer reports can calculate reliability. toyota, lexus and bmw were the top brands with bmw moving up 10 spots from last year. and while pickup trucks account for one of every five new vehicles sold, they fall behind in reliability. >> pickup trucks have been at the lower end of our rating for six of seven years. in this survey we have seven trucks, more than a dozen survey that are getting better-than-average to average in terms of liability. >> if you're looking for a tried-and-true vehicle, consumer reports says a car as in the traditional sedan might be the way to go. >> sedan body styles have been on the road for a long time which allows many factors to work on problem areas. trucks and suvs have complicate

>> we turn to 7 on your side's michael finney. >> facing investigations from the federal government,mers and complaints from passengers, southwest airlines made the announcement yesterday afternoon that they -- sorry, afternoon, that they will make all of these changes. with weather delays and cancellations, airlines need not offer refunds, but if the delays are caused by the airline it self, additional reimbursement is required. many say southwest cancellations do not meet the weather test. that said offer seems generous before the payments are made. we will honor reasonable requests for r transportation the airline wrote. it to get reimbursement, passengers are told to send an email and are directed to this webpage. there is nothing that says reimbursement, so i reached out to southwest, asking which box should be used. i heard back and my question was not addressed. pick a box and let me know how it works for you. there is the concern over what southwest considers reasonable. i asked southwest for clarification with examples and the airline did not respond to that request either.

larry: michael finney is here with the headlines.business to protect, we have a problem. >> we pay them to protect. remember that. we begin with another security breach. it's second incident -- the second incident, for vault pass. the third-party used information in the previous august 2022 breach to gain access again to customer information. it says customer passwords were safe. last pass app remains fully functional. cleaning product company, says it is recalling 8 million items due to possible contamination. according to the safety commission, those with compromised immune systems could be affected by these bacteria. consumer should stop using the recalled products. a detailed list of all the recalled items can be found on the website. walgreens is extending its delivery service and is offering 24 hours, seven day a week delivery. it will be available at 400 stores nationwide. ordering can be done on the website or through its app. walgreens says delivery times will begin on -- be based on store location and other delivery constra

earlier today, michael finney laid out the rights when it comes to finding your luggage. michael: if your luggage is lost, you are owed as much as $3500 for a domestic flight. you have to prove that you lost, what you lost, and some high valued items are not included depending on the airline. dan: michael also says if your luggage is then found, you are entitled to have the airline ship it to any address you choose at no cost to you. do not forget to contact michael anytime. send him your stories and experiences about buying a home or car, paying off alone, anything that has to do with money. your triumphs as well as your frustrations. go to abc7news.com. ama: the alleged killer is facing four more murder charges tonight. wesley brownlee has been charged with two additional murders since -- in alameda county. there was also an attempted murder charge in san joaquin county. roundly was initially arrested -- browlee was initially arrested in oakland. dan: authorities in santa rosa are trying to determine the cause of a fire that knocked out power to 10,000 customers this eve

i'm michael finney seven on your side. also next well, we're gonna talk some sports. outside. all right. let's do it. we're looking at the raindrops on the lens here where you can see it is certainly damp out. we have a lingering rain chance throughout the morning hours. we'll get some sun in here the next couple days, but also the rain isn't going anywhere. we're gonna add up totals through tuesday and we come back. okay lisa. thank you and no clay. no problem. the warriors were looking to stay hot at home against the houston rockets abc 7 sports anchor chris alvarez has all the highlights coming up in sports. welcome back. here's a live look from our abc 7 roof camera looking out over the ferry building and the bay bridge this morning time is 5:45 and in sports. it's nfl sunday. the 49ers are looking to hold on to their four-game winning streak the miami dolphins are gearing up to take on the 49ers at levi's stadium today. kick off is at 105 in the nba the warriors took the court last night without clay thompson, but that wasn't a problem at chase center abc 7 sport

earlier today, michael finney laid out the rights when it comes to finding your luggage. michael: if your luggage is lost, you are owed as much as $3500 for a domestic flight. you have to prove that you lost, what you lost, and some high valued items are not included depending on the airline. dan: michael also says if your luggage is then found, you are entitled to have the airline ship it to any address you choose at no cost to you. do not forget to contact michael anytime. send him your stories and experiences about buying a home or car, paying off alone, anything that has to do with money. your triumphs as well as your frustrations. go to abc7news.com. ama: the alleged killer is facing four more murder charges tonight. wesley brownlee has been charged with two additional murders since -- in alameda county. there was also an attempted murder charge in san joaquin county. roundly was initially arrested -- browlee was initially arrested in oakland. dan: authorities in santa rosa are trying to determine the cause of a fire that knocked out power to 10,000 customers this eve

michael finney laid out the rights you have. >> if your luggage is lost, you are old as much as $3800 for a domestic flight and $1850 for an international one. you have to prove what you -- you lost what you lost and some high-value items are not included depending on the airline. kumasi: michael says if your luggage is found, you are entitled to have your airline to ship it to you at no cost. you can contact him at any time. jobina: just go over abc7news.com snow at several tahoe area distorts -- resorts. they may for a while conditions -- made for wild conditions. >> mother today -- mother nature is delivering and someone should be snow globe of -- shook the snow globe up. >> i felt the wind was knocking me over and i said, oh my gosh, this place is crazy that i love it. jobina: even more snow is six -- expected and as more rain is expected to move in, san francisco residents and businesses can get free sandbags. if you get up to 10 of them, and they are available from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on saturday and you need to bring proof of address and you need to look them into your own car and

uncle finney put some of the top selling holiday toys to the test. michael this year, toys are plentiful and store shelves are stocked. the bad news -- the more popular toys can still be hard to come by. we took some of the hottest toys for preschoolers this season to preschool in san francisco. the kids gave us their unbiased reviews of the toys with expressions on their faces and squeals of excitement. toys out there, so you are going to have to be diligent in some cases to find them. based on a popular youtube channel with 21 million subscribers. it is like i present inside a present with each surprise based on characters from the popular videos. it is recommended for kids six and up. >> filled with all sorts of blind bags and blind un-boxing is a huge trend in the toy industry. michael: and a pet for in your life not old enough to take care of a real one. children four and up show the mother guinea pig some love and she will respond affirmatively. put her in a hutch, and before you know it, outcomes mama guinea pig's baby. the children of fell for the ju

. >> michael finney is here and says the situation is likely to be even more bleak in the new year. >how cold it is right this second? wow. protections in place to provide financial assistance for many of these people will be lifted getting in january. that has some fearing the worst. pastor brinkley leads faith community baptist church in antioch each week in sunday prayer. about 150 join brinkley -- join in weekly and up to 10,010 virtually. she says mounting pg&e bills are a growing concern in her congregation. >> by the time they come to us, they are pretty desperate. they know they only have a few days to try to put the money together or they are facing a shut off. >> 542,000 pg&e customers received 15-day and disconnection notices. the state legislature and governor approved 1.2 billion dollars in emergency assistance to save those people from losing their gas and electricity. that money will be made available at the end of this year. so far, utilities have held off shutting off people's power. >> because they know that if they do, everyone they should off -- everyone they shut

i say nobody should stop michael finney from dancing on tiktok whenever he wants. ok, we have real concerns about privacy about all of the websites. picking out the one that is on my -- it doesn't go near far enough. we have a lot of work to be done. larry: t and has been with all of these companies, you point out with data mining. what's the saying? if you are not paying for the product you are the product. kristen: tiktok has so many users. they say it is a company. but to some extent, all companies in china still have some degree of government funding. therefore, access and control if they wanted it. so, it remains to be seen how privately that information will be guarded. larry: how do you put the genie back in the bottle? if there is millions of people, they have the data if they want it. kristen: keep dancing away. [laughter] behold of the pow artificial intelligence. there is a bot that can crank out essays, biographies and right with quality and accuracy is. i asked the high school teacher how this could change the classroom. >> it is a powerful, beautiful t

. >> michael finney is here with new information about what people need to know in order to get theirorted yesterday, when happened late yesterday afternoon, the airline said would actually start offering it stranded passengers additional reimbursements. they were facing inves from the federal government, critiques by consumer groups, and complaints from passengers. they made the announcement late yesterday afternoon. consumer advocates are happy to see this. they do not consider it any kind of favor. the weather delays and cancellations airlines need only offer refunds. if the delays are caused by the airlines, reimbursement is required. southwest interests. we will honor reasonable request for reimbursement for meals, hotel, and alternate transportation to get the reimbursement's, send in email and directed to this webpage. there is nothing here that says reimbursement. you will see it in a couple moments. i reached out to southwest, asking which of the three boxes should be used. i heard back. my question was not addressed. i want you to pick one of the three boxes. you will see an

michael finney reports on it all the time.i don't know that the grocery market checkout stand is where i want to do my giving. with the 20% you mentioned, all the times i have driven you around i noticed decidedly less than 20%. >> if the service was good. i said if the service was good. [laughter] >> everybody, tip your coanchor's. as we head toward the new year, that means new calendars which got us thinking which day do you consider the start of the week? is it sunday or monday. that is a pretty big bait. the week begins on sunday for the united states. canada, most of south america now china, japan and the philippines. monday is the most standard in most european countries as well as in the middle east, russia and new zealand. many muslim cultures consider saturday the start of the week. i know when you look at our calendar sunday is the first on your left but i always consider monday coming back to work is the start of my week. >> a couple years ago i chan my calendar on my iphone which you have an option to do that. of c

michael finney with the story now. >> i was amazed.n't believe it. >> he was happy to get his $700 debit card from the state for inflation relief until a scammer swipes more than half of the money. >> it was disheartening. >> and happened after he went to his atm in martinez and withdrew re-hundred dollars off the card. all good until the next day when he tried to withdraw the rest. >> and it says no funds available. >> the money was gone. he checked the account and it shows someone went to an atm in san leandro and drained the card. >> that left only $1.50 on the card. >> he filed a claim with a debit card provider, money network which agreed to refund his money and put it on a new card but was that safe? >> california gave a tremendous amount of money so that they could issue those cards and they failed to secure it. >> we learned the franchise tax board's $25 million contract with money network requires security checks on the cards to prevent this type of fraud. it says the state shall require the use of an emv chip enabled card to

michael finney does not do it that way. e line and asks consumer reports what they suggest. michael: the hard work, then swoop in, buy the item and you be the hero. consumer reports staffers are like santa's elves year-round. but rather than make the gifts, they make sure the gifts are well-made. they put products through the paces and that is where tanya christian was today when we spoke. >> let's begin with a gift for the coffee lovers. this is the nesspresso mini. it is compact but packs a punch because it delivers on quick brew. for $142 on sale this week at allmodern.com is a great gift for the coffee lover. michael: what else do you have for the kitchen? >> air fryers are on a lot of people's wish list this year. this is 2.6 quarts which means it is nice and compact. right now it is on sale at target for $40, which is a steel. michael: next she shows me nonstick cookware. a pan set for $75. for those with aches and pains, they recommend the r3 massage gone for as little as $63. let's talk about stocking stuffers. what

you can contact michael finney, just send him your stories about buying a home, a car, anything has to do with money, triumphs and frustrations. go to abc7news.com/7onyourside to share them. kumasi: if you are driving to the sierra, make sure you are -- you have chains because they are required. a storm is bringing several inches of snow to the tahoe area. we spoke to some people from the bay area who braved the storm. >> for a second i thought the wind was knocking me over and i thought that this was just crazy. j.r.: andrea flores of santa rosa is talking about the wind she felt monday night in the sierra. wind that was throwing the snow every which way at the palisades tahoe ski resort overnight into tuesday. they have impacted all of the resorts including boreal. >> we did not open the lifts all the way to the top of the ridgeline but we had options lower. there are still ones that take you to the terrain park features as well as tubing available. j.r.: as for the conditions tuesday afternoon and evening, flores says that she saw and felt a little bit of everything. >> it was a mix

. >> will be joined live by michael finney. debit cards loaded with california's middle-class tax refund or in the mail now and people are asking (vo) a medicare advantage plan should come with all the benefits you want and zero compromises. with anthem blue cross, it can. just go to anthem.com/answers or call 833-797-4179 for a free one-on-one medicare plan review. ask about our zero dollar monthly premium plans that include dental, vision and hearing coverage along with transportation, a gym membership and zero dollar copay for prescriptions all for zero extra cost. plus, you could be eligible for extra benefits to help you save even more. we have plans with up to twenty-three hundred dollars a year to help you pay for over the counter health items, groceries, and living expenses like cell phone, electric or water bills. all on a single prepaid mastercard you can use at thousands of locations nationwide. call anthem blue cross at 833-797-4179 or visit anthem.com/answers and get a medicare plan with zero compromises for you an

viewers have been flooding 7 on your side with questions about this, michael finney has some answers. was suspicious when she got this envelope in the mail from something called california middle-class tax refund, with an address in nebraska. >> i thought it was a scam. reporter: she opened it to find a debit card issued by a bank in new york saying it was her california middle class tax refund. >> i didn't have any refund coming from any company i knew of in new york, it did not look official. reporter: but it was. the card was loaded with three to $50 estate tax refund, one of millions going out to californians right now to ease inflation. the one-time payment ranges from $200 to three did $50 per person for those earning up to 250,000 dollars a year. still, it bothered her. the card came with four pages of rules, restrictions and potential fees, plus a lengthy cardholder agreement. others were skeptical. mark writes it is a debit card for californians, yet the bank is in new york. we are concerned this is a trick the carol in san francisco writes, my husband believe this is a scam.

larry: michael finney is here with consumer news and stop me if you have heard this one before. recall, this one from ford. more than 500,000 vehicles are recalled due to a risk of cracked fuel injectors that could lead to a fire. this includes vehicles that were recalled back in april for an oil leak issue. ford has reported for possible injuries and 43 legal claims stemming from this issue. ford will notify owners by mail in mid. the federal reserve is slowing down its key interest rate hikes but will continue the incremental increases for "an extended period." that's why the stock market is going up today. the fed still fighting against record inflation, anticipates raising its key interest rate by a half point in december. interest rates have gone up six consecutive times already this year, a pace not seen since the early 1980's. the fed chairman says interest rates will likely be held at a restrictive level -- that means hi -- for some time. the irs announced it is increasing interestoney from the irs due to overpayment or refund, you will get 7% interest. that is up from 6%

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. >> and 7 on your side's michael finney, google is making a change that lets you keep scrolling andscrolling and (vo) it's a fact! two out of three americans who qualify for medicare do not receive all the benefits they deserve. you could be missing out! now anthem blue cross introduces a free medicare plan checkup to make sure you receive all the benefits you qualify for in 2023. call 1-866-336-3448 today and receive extra benefits for a zero dollar monthly premium. benefits like dental, vision, hearing and prescription drugs! and to help you stay healthy at home, you can have free prescription drug delivery, online doctor visits twenty-four seven, and free exercise classes. you can even receive money towards over-the-counter health items. call 1-866-336-3448 today and feel confident you have all the benefits you deserve for 2023. you can receive extra benefits for a zero dollar monthly premium, like dental, vision, hearing and prescription drugs. call 1-866-336-3448 and make sure you're not missing out. it's time now for consumer news. >> 7 on your side is here with us now. >> we

scrooge is a meaty role, and a lot of actors have taken it on -- albert finney, alastair sim, and george c. scott, patrick stewart, michaelnezer scrooge is shakespearean in his interpretive possibilities. >> everyone wants to take a crack at scrooge. it's like the great character that you measure yourself against. >> you want all day tomorrow, i suppose? >> if it's quite convenient, sir. >> it's not convenient. >> one of the enemies of christmas is greed. and dickens is responding to the income inequalities, the unfairness, the hardships of urban life in britain during the industrial age. >> two pounds, five shillings, ladies. due before christmas. that means today. >> it's a powerful story about regeneration and rehabilitation and change. >> it's a morality play and it's a redemption story, but it's also a ghost story. >> merry christmas, governor. merry christmas. >> there was this notion that christmas night was when the veil between the two worlds was at its thinnest. >> why are we having a ghost story at christmas? well, we really like it and we can't stop. we can't stop remaking it. >> there's a 1901 version. in 191